Page 67 of Sin for You

Trouble at the bar. Can’t make it tonight.

I downed the beer in my hand and went and got another one. Mase was right about that as well. Like I had a right to judge him for his drinking.

I was more like my mother than I wanted to believe.

* * *

I woke in the living room, still in my chair, with a hangover and my ringing phone clutched in my hand.

It stopped and I rubbed my eyes, trying to clear my head.

Then everything came rushing back. I was supposed to wake up in Quinn’s bed this morning, with her pressed up against me.

Christ. I dragged my hand down my face. Quinn had been disappointed, had tried to get me to come over whatever time I finished at the bar. I’d lied and said I had a water leak and would be there all night fixing it.

I glanced down at the screen: a couple of missed calls from a number I didn’t recognize and a text from Quinn.

If you didn’t want to spend the night with me, you should have said so. Not interested in liars…not even casually.

Oh God. She must’ve gone to the bar. I’d fucked up.

I’d made a mistake. Staying here last night was a goddamn mistake. Yeah, I should leave her alone, but I couldn’t. I didn’t want to. I’d let what Mase said get to me. Christ, she’d had enough assholes lie to her, treat her like nothing, like she wasn’t important.

I’d hurt her. Just the idea of me causing her pain tore me to shreds.

I was in my car heading to Quinn’s place when my phone rang again, that same number I didn’t recognize.

I quickly answered it. “Yeah?”

“Bull…it’s Dane.”

“What’s going on?”

“I’m in Rutherford…I’ve been arrested.”

“What?” I bit out.

I got a heavy silence.

“Are you hurt?”

“No.”

There was genuine fear in his voice, and it shut down any anger that had reared up. “On my way.”

* * *

Dane sat in my living room, his head in his hands. “Thanks for paying my bail.”

Cal was on his way over. I’d called on my way to pick up Dane. And my cousin had reacted like I knew he would. He was pissed. But when Cal was worried…scared, that’s how it surfaced. Dane knew this too. I wasn’t surprised it was me he called first.

Hopefully, the wait to see Dane had given Cal time to cool off.

I took Dane in. Christ, I felt like I was looking at that twelve-year-old kid who’d been taken away from us all over again. Except I wanted to knock some sense into him and hug the idiot all at the same time.

“What were you thinking?” I said.

Dane shook his head. “I wasn’t. I just…I wanted to see this guy for myself. I knew he wasn’t good enough for Everly, I just knew it.” He looked up at me, and he looked like he hadn’t slept for a week. “I was just going to hang back. I just wanted to be there if she needed me. Everly didn’t even know I was there. Then I heard him talking about her, saying shit…” He shoved his fingers in his hair. “That he’d never fucked a virgin. And then his friends were all laughing, telling him to get pictures and he…” Dane growled. “He had something, something to put in her drink. He said, ‘At least I don’t have to worry about her backing out at the last minute,’ and I…lost it, Bull. That fucking asshole was going to…force himself on my girl, and I lost it. I beat the shit out of him.”